Completed form is to be submitted to theAzad Jammu & KashmirEnvironmental Protection Agency forevaluation.AJK-EPA may request for additional information or decide to undertake visit to the proposedproject site in order to assess the environmental impact of the proposed project.

1.3 Glossary

Actmeans the

Azad Jammu & Kashmir Environmental

Act,2000

Coagulationmeans the use of chemicals (the coagulants) to make suspended solids to gather or grouptogether to form larger masses or floes, which can settle to the bottom

Dustare fine powdery material such as dry earth or pollen that can be blown about in the air

Environmentmeans (a) air, water and land; (b) all layers of the atmosphere; (c) all organic and inorganicmatter and living organisms; (d) the ecosystem and ecological relationships; (e) buildings, structures,roads, facilities and works; (f) all social and economic conditions affecting community life; and (g) theinter-relationships between any of the factors in sub-clause (a) to (f).

Environmental Assessmenta technique and a process by which information about theenvironmental effects of a

project iscollected, both by the developer and from other sources, and takeninto account by the planning authority in forming their judgments on whether the development should goahead.

Filtrationmeans subjecting any effluent to pass through a membrane or a layer

of sand or gravel toseparate the suspended particles

Impact on Environmentmeans any effect on land, water, air or any other component of the environment,including any effect on the social and cultural environment or on heritage resources.

Liquid Effluentis the used water coming out of the stone crushing unit

Limeis the common name for oxides of calcium

Mitigation Measuremeans a measure for the control, reduction or elimination of an adverse impact of adevelopment on the environment, including a restorative measure.

Noiseis defined as unwanted sound; sound that is loud, unpleasant or unexpected.

Suspended Solidsare solid particles suspended in water that can be removed by filtration or settlement

Sedimentationmeans settling of particles by gravity

2.Project Profile

2.1 Project Description

Marble industry is an important industrial sector in the country engaged in producing finished goods suchas tiles, tableware and decoration pieces.

The marble crushing units can be seen in the vicinity of almostall major cities and towns.

Marble processing is a simple process. Raw marble block, weighing several tones, is transported to thefactory by road through trucks or tractor trolleys. It is unloaded in the storage are using forklift or throughpulleys. The marble block is then cut in to smaller pieces or slabs on cutting machine. Both dry and wetcutting machines are used. Using various smaller machines and manual process the marble is finallybrought to the desired shape depend on the product. Polishing is the last step in which various polishingbuffs are used.

Smaller pieces and waste from the process is crushed to make marble chip used in floor finishing. Marbledust is also marketed foruse as abrasive.

2.2 Environmental Aspects

The major environmental aspects for marble crushing units are discussed for each of the process steps.

Raw and Finished Material Transportation

This activity can bring about significant increase in the noise levels in the vicinity of the marble unit dueto the heavy transport deployed to bringtheraw

material to the site. The loaded trucks are also slowmoving vehicles and if the access roads are

not wide enough they can cause overall traffic slowdowns andcongestion during peak hours. Further, the transport of raw and finished marble in bulk through opentrucks also causes the emission of dusts into the air.

Cutting and Processing

The main aspects of these activities are generation of noise, dust and liquid effluent. Excessive use offreshwater in wet processing is another environmental aspect. These are discussed below:



Dry cutting of marble results in generation of marble dust. Depending on the size of the operation andequipment the dust can spread locally and can affect the health of the community apart from being ageneral nuisance.

areas where water resources are limited, marble factories are competing with the local communitiesfor the available water.Conservation

and re-use of water in these areas is critical.



Dust emission, apart from being an environmental issue is also a serious occupational health hazard.The workers operating various machines and engaged in polishing of marble

pieces are exposed tounacceptable levels of dust.



Marble cutting operation can be major source of noise pollution. Excessive levels of noisecan cause nuisance to the surrounding community and can also be an occupational hazard.

2.3 Mitigation Options

Traffic Management

Location of plant has to be such that ingress of heavy vehicles does not block the traffic. Evening and latenight operation is to be avoided if passage is through residential areas.

Dust Containment



In general enclosures provided for

dust control in equipment and conveyors are inadequate.Dust containment enclosures are required for the purpose of containing the emissions withinan enclosure and to prevent wind currents, which can spread the dust to larger areas. Suchenclosures are recommended for all areas where dry processing takes place.



The enclosures should be, complete from all four sides and roof. There should not be openwindows and other openings. The gaps should be sealed using gaskets or wool type packingetc.

Liquid Effluent Treatment



Volume and strength reduction of the effluent is to be achieved by preventing mixing ofwaters from washing activities and processing activities□□

Liquid effluent is to be treatedby sedimentation process meaning subjecting the effluent to

flow through settling tanks



Effluent is to be treated by coagulation that is adding any coagulant to the settling tanks.Nevertheless, this treatment is expensive as compared to the sedimentation process yet it ismore efficient.



Effluent is to be treated by coagulation and filtration. Treated effluent can be reused but thetreatment process is expensive comparatively.

Noise



It is the responsibility of the factory owners to ensure that the operation of the marble factorydoes not cause nuisance for the community. Proper siting can eliminate many of the noiserelated issues.



If the factory is located in industrial area, it isless likely that sensitive receptors would bepresent in the surroundings.



If the proposed site of the factory is not in an industrial area, keeping a distance of at least500m from communities is desirable.



If the required distance cannot be maintained,

or the land around the proposed site isdesignated for communities or other sensitive receptors, noise walls mayrequire

to preventnoise from the factory disturbing the existing or future communities.



The recommended density of the noise walls is 10 kilogram per square meter. The height ofthe wall should

be such that a line drawn from the noise source to the wall and extend in thedirection of the receptor should pass at least 2 meters above the receptor.

Occupational Safety



Personal protective equipment should be provided to the workers. It is observed that oftenthere is reluctance on the part of the workers to use the equipment.Inconvenienceis

generallycited as the main reason. All such complaints should be investigated and attempts should be made toidentify the reason and rectify it. However, providing awareness about the long-term health effects ofthe dust and noise is very important. Worker who are aware of the safety and health hazards and aremotivated will modify his/their work habits anduse PPE even if creates some inconvenience.

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then the project would require an initialenvironmental examination or an environment impact assessment. Refer to the PakistanEnvironmental Protection Agency Review of Initial Environmental Examination and EnvironmentImpact Assessment Regulations, 2000 for appropriate category.

Section III:

Environmental Profile

1.

Describe theterrain of the project area:

2.

Are there signs of soil erosion or landslide anywhere within 500 m of the proposed site?

Please provide the traffic count for all main roads adjacent to the proposed site or roads thatwill provide access to the site. The count should be based on data collected, for bothdirections, on at least three typical working days. Use the following format:

Road____________________

Count Location

____________________

6:00 am-

9:00 am-

12:00 noon-

3:00 pm-

6:00 pm-

9:00 am

12:00 noon

3:00 pm

6:00 pm

9:00 pm

Large vehicles

(trucks, buses,

tractor trolleys,

Minibuses)

Medium sized

vehicles (Suzuki

pickups, cars,

jeeps, taxis)

Small vehicles

(Rickshaws,

motorcycles,

scooters)

Slow vehicles

(animal-driven

carts, tongas)

Others

(Please add additional sheets for every road)

9.

What is the present land use in the vicinity (roughly a radius of 500 m) of the proposed site?

Residential

(Thick,

Moderate,

Sparse)

Commercial

(Office,

Shops, Fuel

Stations)

Open Land

(Parks,

Farmlands,

unutilized

plots, barren

land

Sensitive

Receptors

and Sites of

Cultural

Importance

Other

Description

(Please attach a map of the proposed project site and indicate roughly the area that youhave considered for this evaluation)

For any agricultural farmland on the proposed site and a radius of 500 m around it, provide thefollowing information:

Main crop(s) and average yield

_______________________________________________

Source of irrigation water

___________________________________________________

Area affected by salinity or water logging

_______________________________________

11.

Please describe all the sensitive receptors within 500 m of the proposed site:

Type (schools,

colleges,

hospitals, and

clinics)

Name

Size (Number of

students or

number of beds)

Location

(Village, road,

mohalla, etc.)

Distance from

Site

12.

Roughly, how many houses are within a radius of 500 m of the proposed site?